Choosing the Right Texts for Your Learners
The best reading texts are not necessarily the easiest — they are the ones that are most appropriate for the learner and the task.
4 things to consider when choosing a text
Level of difficulty
Students should know approximately 95% of the words in a text to read it comfortably.
✓Text type variety
- News articles and reports
- Stories and narratives
- Emails and letters
- Instructions and procedures
- Advertisements and notices
- Academic and argumentative texts
Authentic vs Graded texts
Key principle: The task determines the difficulty — not just the text. A challenging authentic text with a simple task is often more effective than an easy text with a complex task.
✓By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
- Apply four key criteria when selecting reading texts
- Explain the difference between graded and authentic texts
- Choose appropriate texts for different learner levels and contexts